The NAFTA circus has arrived in Montreal. Here's what to expect

You may have heard: the NAFTAtalks are in town.

Negotiators from Mexico, the U.S. and Canada are descending on Montreal thisweek to discussthe North American Free Trade Agreement.

There are meetings andprotests and, later in the week, top officials from all three countries will arrive in the city.

Here is some background, as well as details on what to expect.

Why Montreal?

This is the sixth round of negotiations.Previous talks were held in country capitals:Washington, Mexico City and Ottawa.

Canadian officials chose Montrealbecause of its proximity to Ottawaand because of Quebec's dependence on free trade.

The meetings in Montrealwill run from Jan. 23 to29 at the Hotel Bonaventure.

Along with government officials, representatives of unions,industry groupsand the international media will be here for the talks.

What's at stake?

A lot.

Prime MinisterJustin Trudeau has tried to put a positive spin on the talks, saying last week he remainsoptimistic that Canada, the U.S.and Mexico can strike a deal to modernizeNAFTAthat benefits all three countries.

But U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened repeatedly to pull out of the continental trade pact.

Trudeau, though, has effectively dismissed thosethreats as a negotiating tactic.

The talks appeared to stall before Christmas as both Canada and Mexico flatly rejected a number ofU.S. demands.

They include:

• ending Canada's system of supply management for dairy and poultry.
• hikingAmerican and North American content requirements for automobiles.
• addinga clause that would automatically terminate the agreement after five years unless all three countries agree to extend it.

What can we expect?

It's hard to say.

Negotiations have been made more difficult byTrump's shifting and sometimes contradictory statements, said AndreaBjorklund, aMcGilllaw professor and visiting fellow at Oxford University.

"One of the concerns is that now the U.S. side I'm not sure that the U.S. negotiators know what their position is," she said.

"I think there's so much uncertainty around [U.S.]goals."

Bjorklund,an expert in international arbitration and commercial law, suggested distinguishing between what wecan "expect" and what we would "hope" to see.

"What Iwould hope to see is some movement from all sides," she said.

"I think President Trump has signalled that he is more flexible."

Canada, for its part, intendsto be constructive and innovative,Federal InternationalTrade MinisterFranois-PhilippeChampagne said Monday.

"Canadians expect us to be creative, but at the same time, Canadians expect us to be firm when it is about key sectors like supply management," he said.

What does Quebec want?

Quebec Economy Minister DominiqueAnglade told reporters Monday it was important to stand firmin the face of U.S. punitive duties on products such as softwood lumber and Bombardier jets.

"At the end of the day, we have to defend what we really believe in, and when we think something is not just, we have to go forward and say it loud and clear," she said.

Anglade and federal ChampagnemetMonday with Quebec stakeholders fromcultural industries, agriculture and labour, as well as representatives of key employers and municipalities.

Protests against 'race to the bottom'

Unifor, Canada's largest private-sector union, organizeda demonstration to emphasize the importance ofmaintaining labour rights.

"NAFTA continues to erode the rights of working men and women in North America," the union, which represents 315,000 Canadians in the private sector,said in a statement.

"Good jobs are on the chopping block in the NAFTA renegotiations while the U.S. has launched unfair attacks on the aerospace, forestry and pulp and paper, automobile, aluminum and several other sectors."

A demonstration was held this morning at DorchesterSquare. Protesters then marchedto the Hotel Bonaventure.